Coal Mine Collapses in Asansol, India

Several houses in India's Asansol district are damaged after a coal mine caved-in at a colliery on Tuesday. The incident caused several families to flee for safety in nearby areas.

A major part of a colliery collapsed in the Asansol district of India's West Bengal state on Tuesday.

It happened at a coalmine owned by Eastern Coalfield Limited, or ECL.

The collapse of the coalmine sent local workers into a state of panic, causing several families to flee to safety in nearby areas.

Wide cracks in the ground appeared throughout the area, devastating fields and houses.

[Sandip Kumar Dutta, Sub-Divisional Officer, Asansol]:"There was a huge landslide in the morning today. The incident took place at a coalmine in the area. On our visit, we saw the ground had caved in at many places. Four to five houses have been completely damaged due to the collapse, while two to three houses have caved in."

Locals are criticizing company authorities for the mishap, alleging that blank spaces between the coalmines had not been filled with sand in time.

According to local media reports, the regional administration has urged ECL to provide adequate compensation and rehabilitation to the workers affected by the accident.